I love my head. I have a morning routine that includes general head maintenance like brushing my teeth, combing my hear, and washing my face. Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun spent a good portion of her life focused on heads too; painting portraits of them, sculpting the image that those heads presented to the press, and even working to protect her own head from the guillotine during France’s revolution. Through it all, LeBrun’s artwork played a key role in the politics of the day.
Ready to learn more?
Study
It is impossible for us to cover all the details of any artist’s life in our short class time, and Vigee LeBrun is no exception.
- Listen to a short biography of “The Semi-Charmed Life of Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun” – episode 3 of the ArtCurious Podcast
- Older Students: Read Elisabeth’s memoir. My favorite version is illustrated. Available for free on Kindle.
- Younger Students: Learn more about Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution. The weirdly sideways image shows two that my family enjoyed. You wouldn’t want to be an Aristocrat in the French Revolution, and Marie Antoinette, Fashionable Queen or Greedy Royal
Create
Use your quilling tools to create more artwork!
- Make a quilled dress for Marie Antoinette. Template available at Libertyhillhouse.com/VigeeLebrun
- Try making a 3 dimensional quilled piece – maybe a necklace or Christmas ornament. There are many free patterns available.
Consider
- Thirteen years of exile was probably not something Vigee LeBrun intentionally placed on her to-do list. What happens when we don’t like God’s plans?
- Read Jeremiah 29:11. God has plans for good, even when it doesn’t look like things could possibly ever turn out well. Does that sound like a flippant platitude?
- Look into the history behind why those words were spoken. God’s perspective may surprise you.